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Category: Olympics

Rio’s over and so to Tokyo and beyond

Rio’s over and so to Tokyo and beyond

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David Herdson looks at the battle to host the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad? So, farewell then Rio – or perhaps, goodbye. It’s not been a vintage Games. Some problems, such as the Zika virus, couldn’t have been anticipated or prevented but others – the three-quarter empty stadia, the unsporting crowds, the polluted water, dangerous cycle courses and the impending shambles of the Paralympics – most certainly could. The City of Fiesta never showed up and it will be a…

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The Queen, the BBC and Boris the big London 2012 winners – poll

The Queen, the BBC and Boris the big London 2012 winners – poll

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New MORI poll finds just one person in sample of 1,007 who did not believe London 2012 had been a success.bit.ly/NAVkJZ — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) August 15, 2012 81% tell MORI that their view of BBC had improved by Olympic coverage. 6% said it had fallenbit.ly/NAVkJZ — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) August 15, 2012 70% tell Ipsos-MORI that their view of Royal Family had improved by the Olympics against 5% who said it had fallen.bit.ly/NAVkJZ — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) August 15,…

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The Wiggins price eases in the SPOTY betting

The Wiggins price eases in the SPOTY betting

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Best odds shown as %age from Bestbetting But he’s still odds on favourite A factor in this market is how previous elections have worked out. Two of the last four Sports Personalities of the Year have been cyclists and it’s likely that this could happen again. The cycling lobby has been very effective in mobilising the vote and in December the athletics interest is likely to be split between Ennis and Farah. Mike Smithson @MSmithsonPB

Will Britain now be viewed differently in the world?

Will Britain now be viewed differently in the world?

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Is that going to be the global legacy? There’s a great verdict on London 2012 in today’s Sydney Morning Herald – one of the leading newspapers in Australia. This is the country, of course, which has been the butt of many jokes in the past forthnight. Greg Baum writes: “London, you didn’t half do a decent job. These Olympics had Sydney’s vibrancy, Athens’s panache, Beijing’s efficiency, and added British know-how and drollery. With apologies to Sydney, they might just represent…

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92 percent of Americans say Britain has run a successful Olympic Games

92 percent of Americans say Britain has run a successful Olympic Games

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Will this add to the “feelgood factor” at home? New US polling finds that Americans overwhelmingly believe that Britain and London have run a successful Olympic Games. A CNN/ORC survey asked ““How successful would you say the city of London and the government of Great Britain have been at hosting this year’s Olympic Games: very successful, somewhat successful, not very successful, or not successful at all?” The findings are really quite staggering:- “Very successful” 66% “Somewhat” 26% “Not very” 1%…

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Over to Rio and then where?

Over to Rio and then where?

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How’s the race for the 2020 Games looking? Jacques Rogge is not given to using his Closing Ceremony speech at each Olympic Games to declare them ‘the best ever’, as his predecessor, Juan Antonio Samaranch usually did. Maybe that’s because he feels it cheapens his office and demeans previous hosts; alternatively, perhaps it’s that Athens 2004 with its organisational problems, and the spectacular but expensive and sterile Beijing 2008 don’t deserve the accolade. London, on the other hand, maybe does….

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